“Abide in me and I will abide in thee, therefore walk with me.”
The Lord’s invitation to Enoch when he was called
- Obey God’s commandments
- Walk in the covenant path?
Some saints believe the testimonies shared in conference and in local congregations and yet they have a hard time believing that they apply to them individually and in their circumstances.
Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify.
That is a very hopeful promise.
The word abide denotes remaining fixed or stable and enduring without yielding. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland explained that “abiding” as an action means “‘[to] stay—but [to] stay forever.’”
The Lord will abide with those who keep their covenants. It is up to us to be comparably permanent in starting with Him.
We begin to abide in the Lord by exercising our moral agency to take upon ourselves His yoke through the covenants and ordinances of the restored gospel. The covenant connection we have with our Heavenly Father and His resurrected and living Son is the supernal source of perspective, hope, power, peace, and enduring joy; it also is the rock-solid foundation upon which we should build our lives.
We abide in Him by striving continually to strengthen our individual covenant bond with the Father and the Son. For example, praying sincerely to the Eternal Father in the name of His Beloved Son deepens and fortifies our covenant connection with Them.
We abide in Him by truly feasting upon the words of Christ. The Savior’s doctrine draws us, as children of the covenant, closer to Him and will tell us all things what we should do.
We abide in Him by preparing earnestly to participate in the ordinance of the sacrament, reviewing and reflecting on our covenant promises, and repenting sincerely. Worthily partaking of the sacrament is a witness to God that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and strive to “always remember him” after the brief period of time required to participate in that sacred ordinance.
And we abide in Him by serving God as we serve His children and minister to our brothers and sisters.
My beloved brothers and sisters, is the Word in us? Are the truths of the Savior’s gospel written in the fleshy tables of our hearts? Are we coming unto and gradually becoming more like Him? Is the tree of Christ growing in us? Are we striving to become “new [creatures]” in Him?
We should regularly check out hearts to see if His gospel is still written there.
I testify that as we press forward in faith and walk in the meekness of the Lord’s Spirit, we are blessed with power, guidance, protection, and peace.
Some Church members accept as true the doctrine, principles, and testimonies proclaimed repeatedly from this pulpit in the Conference Center and in local congregations around the world—and yet may struggle to believe these eternal truths apply specifically in their lives and to their circumstances. They believe sincerely and serve dutifully, but their covenant connection with the Father and His redeeming Son has not yet become a living and transforming reality in their lives.
I promise that by the power of the Holy Ghost, you can know and feel the gospel truths I have attempted to describe are for you—for you individually and personally.
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